A Kansas development company is optimistic about its proposal that would bring a Menards home improvement store, a dinosaur museum, hotel and restaurant to an Ames flood plain — one of 10 applications submitted by Iowa cities seeking state tax incentives for "transformative" construction projects.

A Kansas development company is optimistic about its proposal that would bring a Menards home improvement store, a dinosaur museum, hotel and restaurant to an Ames flood plain — one of 10 applications submitted by Iowa cities seeking state tax incentives for "transformative" construction projects.

The preliminary applications, which were due March 15 and seek a combined $134 million, are for portions of a $100 million pool of state hotel/motel and sales tax revenue available through the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s (IEDA) new Iowa Reinvestment District Program.

Oppenheimer and Co. Inc. of Leawood, Kan., is seeking $14.7 million from the state for the Ames project, estimated at $48.4 million, and is hopeful about the proposal’s chances despite concerns raised by some Ames residents.

"We feel incredibly confident about our chances," said Korb Maxwell, an attorney with the Polsinelli law firm of Kansas City, Mo., who is representing Oppenheimer.

"We saw that the requests were oversubscribed for the $100 million, but we feel we have a very competitive application and look forward to a good, competitive process."

Flooding concerns

Oppenheimer wants to situate the development along Southeast 16th Street between South Duff and Dayton avenues, leading skeptical residents to question the wisdom of building so close to the South Skunk River.

"It’s unfortunate, but most of our valuable commercial land lies where it is adjacent to or within flood areas," city planner Charlie Kuester said.

"It’s kind of a trade-off: If we restricted development on Southeast 16th because it’s in the floodway, we’ve got this valuable asset, which we paved and put a new bridge in a few years ago with the purpose of encouraging commercial development, that would be a lost asset that we’ve put in the ground."

Floodways, or water channels and the land adjacent to them, are usually left alone to allow flood water to flow downstream. But other areas within a flood plain can be developed if certain conditions are met such as elevating the land at least 3 feet to guard against the sort of flooding Ames suffered in 2008 and 2010.

About one-third of the property Oppenheimer would develop is located in a floodway, Kuester said, and the rest — where all the major construction would occur — on its fringe.

"The property is buildable, so it’s not really at this point an option for us to put in a moratorium on construction there, unless we want to invite a lawsuit from the property owners," said City Councilman Tim Gartin, who, before the council approved the application March 4, peppered city staff with questions from Ames residents concerned about flooding.

Until about five years ago, the property was zoned as agricultural land, Kuester said, with no expectations for development.

But then, at the request of its owner, Hickory Park, the City Council rezoned it to make way for commercial development.

Hickory Park has since elevated the land several feet to make it more attractive to prospective buyers like Oppenheimer, Kuester said.

Why dinosaurs?

At the March 4 council meeting, Oppenheimer developer Rick Worner promoted his proposal — in particular, the dinosaur museum — as a unique, tourism-centric concept with clear benefits for the local economy.

As the IEDA board reviews the reinvestment district applications to decide whether they are worthy of further consideration, they will focus heavily on their uniqueness and potential economic impact.

A study by Applied Economics of Phoenix, Ariz. that was commissioned for the application estimated that the development could attract tens of thousands of visitors to the museum each year and — including the Menards, restaurant and hotel at which many museum visitors would presumably stay — have a $32 million annual economic impact for Story County.

But to many Ames residents, and to a cautious City Council that was asked to approve the application on the same day it was presented due to how the state program was rolled out, a dinosaur museum seemed at first glance like a peculiar project.

Matthew Hill, an Iowa State University anthropology professor, objected at the council meeting to the museum’s proposed fossil dig site for young children. He argued that it could miseducate them because very few dinosaur fossils have ever been found in Iowa.

That’s because Iowa was submerged by an ancient sea for much of the time dinosaurs roamed Earth. The sea created many fossils, just not usually of dinosaurs.

"They’ve never found a dinosaur in New York state, but it doesn’t stop the American Museum of Natural History from having a dinosaur hall" said Guy Gsell, executive producer of Field Station Dinosaurs, the New York City-area museum Ames’ would be modeled after.

"Dinosaurs are exciting for kids, and we want to take the kids’ passion for dinosaurs and turn that into a passion for science and lifelong learning."

The museum, as proposed, would feature an outdoor exhibit of 24 life-sized, animatronic dinosaurs, indoor exhibit of dinosaur skeletons and fossils, educational programs aligned with state curriculum standards and a wing dedicated to Iowa’s prehistory.

(City planner Kuester said the animatronic dinosaurs, "if they’re not elevated, they’ll have to be anchored so that they don’t float away in the event of a flood.")

"I think we’re a bit too focused on this," Councilman Gartin said. "(A dinosaur museum) wouldn’t be my first choice either, but I’m not going to tell the man what to do with his property."

"People need to understand (Worner) is not a novice to development. He’s not doing this to lose money, he’s doing this to have a successful project."

Gsell, too, is experienced. A science buff, playwright and former Jeopardy! contestant, he is the founding director of the Discovery Times Square museum in Manhattan and is working on plans to expand Field Station Dinosaurs beyond its current location regardless of what happens in Ames.

Selection process

The City Council did not commit to bringing Oppenheimer’s project to Ames by choosing to submit its application to the IEDA.

It also made clear at its March 4 meeting that no city incentives would be provided for the development if it did go forward.

The IEDA board will score the city’s application along with nine others by the end of June. Those that score highly enough could then be resubmitted next March for final funding consideration.

The applications will be scored under seven categories, weighted toward uniqueness and economic impact.

Administrative rules finalized last December explain that a project would not necessarily have to be the first of its kind in the state to be considered unique.

But, the rules suggest, higher scores would likely be given for proposals that would "permanently transform the aesthetics or infrastructure of a local community for the better, including by preserving important historical structures or neighborhoods" or "contribute substantially more to the state’s economy or quality of life than other similar projects in the state."

"There are no precedents, since this is a new program," said Kanan Kappelman, a market manager with the IEDA.

Oppenheimer attorney Maxwell said he planned to request copies of the applications submitted by other cities to get a better understanding of how the board scores them.

Included in them are proposals for conference and convention centers, hotels, indoor sports complexes and a variety of retail and entertainment options.

If changes are made to the proposals before they are resubmitted next year, they would be re-scored by the IEDA board, Kappelman said.

She said that although $100 million is available, some of the money could be set aside for future applications if the board elects not to allocate funding to enough of the current applications. But once the funds are allocated, no more will come unless the state Legislature takes further action.

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